Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s two top aides are apologizing and are repaying a portion of the $207,000 Canadian (US$157,000) in expenses they incurred in moving to Ottawa from Toronto. “This is provided by Chinese law and the judicial and law authorities follow this role very strictly”. “If we abolish the death penalty, more innocent people will probably lose their lives”, he said, via a translator.
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Trudeau’s openness to a possible extradition deal with China has been met at home with criticism, and concern over the potential for executions.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau greets Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, left, as holds an expanded meeting in the Cabinet room on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Thursday, Sept. 22, 2016. Requests for extradition should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis and, where Canada believes there is a good reason to extradite an individual, specific guarantees of fair treatment should be sought and China’s compliance with those conditions should be monitored, including through proceedings in open court observed by Canadian officials or designated third party organizations.
Canada’s Liberal government, which came to power last fall, has pledged to improve dialogue with China, something Mr. Trudeau says Canada’s previous Conservative government failed to cultivate.
Canada and China have been arguing about canola disease prevention strategies, particularly for blackleg, for almost seven years.
The targets were “corrupt public officials and private citizens alleged to have committed economic crimes such as financial fraud against persons, businesses and banks”.
The fact is, Canada has extraordinarily high standards for extradition treaties, and those will always be upheld with anyone around the world, he declared. The Chinese government estimated in 2014 that 208 people had fled with an estimated $1.93 million. “As China has attached great importance to deepening cooperation with the global community to fight corruption, Trudeau showed his willingness to respond to China’s grave concerns in a bid to change the hard-line stance his predecessor Stephen Harper took against China”, Tang said.
Trudeau said the talks about extradition and capital punishment between Canada and China have happened for years but only on a case by case basis.
Li said during the talks that China is willing to strengthen mutual political trust and deepen practical cooperation in a bid to forge a “golden decade” for China-Canada ties.
Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said Canada will address China’s use of the death penalty during future negotiations.
Trudeau made the remarks in a news conference with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in Ottawa.
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Both candidates have been critical of China’s assertive pursuit of territory in the South China Sea, a potential flashpoint in Asia and a cause of significant friction in relations between Washington and Beijing. There’s no known timetable for the talks, no guarantee they will be successful, and most of all no clear idea exactly what such an agreement might look like.
